Point of Seduction [Sunset Point] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Lori King

  “I’m sorry. I should have told you all that I was still being harassed,” she said softly, waiting for their reactions.

  Each man nodded, and silently, Kendrick held his arms out to her. She moved to settled on his lap and tucked her head into his neck. “I’m sorry, too, Gaby-baby. We shouldn’t have gone behind your back. It’s hard to think straight when all I can think about is seeing you again.”

  “Sweetheart, we just want to protect you,” Michael said with a solemn look on his face.

  She nodded. “I know, Austin told me that. Tristan has threatened me with all manner of things over the last seven or eight months. It started out he just pleaded with me to come back to him, and then he tried to make me feel guilty about breaking his heart. I knew better than to believe that, because there were never any real feelings between us. It wasn’t until just recently that he freaked out and started telling me that he was going to create a scandal by sending dirty pictures of me to the tabloids, or that he would find a way to ruin my dad if I didn’t come back to him. This week he upped the ante by telling me to pack my bags and fly back, or he was coming down here to get me. I’m not sure at what point he lost his mind, but I still think he’s harmless. He’s all talk.”

  “From what I found, his family is one of the wealthiest families in the country,” Austin said. His voice didn’t carry any emotion one way or another. He was just stating a fact, and she nodded, confirming it. “It sounds to me like he hasn’t ever been told no before. He’s determined to prove to himself that he can have you back if he wants you.”

  “Well, he can’t,” Gaby said decisively, snuggling deeper into Kendrick’s arms. “And if he’s stupid enough to fly all the way down here, I will gladly tell him to his face.”

  “Gaby, you have to promise us that you won’t do anything rash if he shows up. Just call us and let us be there if you have to face off with him. If he’s as arrogant as you say, he may do something stupid,” Austin said, his eyes wide and his face slightly pale. Gaby’s heart lurched in her chest. He was scared for her. That must mean that he had feelings for her. Deep feelings. The kind that she had for the three of them.

  Reaching her hand out to him, she was pleased when he scooted a little closer on the couch to take it, and he held it against his chest. “I promise I will call you if he shows up. Okay?”

  Austin’s muscles immediately relaxed, but a moment later his eyebrow rose. “Is that a promise that you will call us the minute he shows up, or after you’ve had your say?”

  She felt the blush creep over her face, and she grinned at him, “Okay, okay! I’ll call you if I even catch a glimpse of the stuck-up asshat. I promise!”

  The four of them settled in to watch an old horror movie on TV until a car pulled up out front, and the four Valdez parents came through the door.

  Gaby jumped to her feet and hugged Quinn. “Damn! False alarm?”

  “Yeah, they said it was Braxton Hicks still. I’m only dilated to a one.” Quinn had frustrated tears in her eyes.

  “Oh Q, I’m sorry! I know how miserable you are.”

  Gaby heard Michael whisper to the Valdez brothers, “who is Braxton Hicks?” and she and Quinn laughed until tears were rolling down their cheeks, while Sebastian tried to explain the finer points of pregnancy to Michael, Kendrick, and Austin. What a strange night this turned out to be, Gaby thought to herself as she watched her three men turn green at the gills after their crash course in the labor and delivery process. Yep, these three were her men. Weak stomachs and all.

  Chapter 11

  Austin was pumped to be spending the evening alone with Gaby. After last night’s Tristan debacle and Quinn’s baby scare, the four of them had gone back to the condo and collapsed into an exhausted sleep. None of them had had any energy left to even consider fooling around, but tonight Austin would have Gaby all to himself. They had agreed that they each still needed time with her alone, in order to build their individual bonds and make her comfortable with all of them.

  Tonight, Kendrick and Michael had made plans to go to a poker night with some of the guys on the force, while Austin made arrangements to visit the posh Palace Resort and Spa with Gaby in tow. They had an appointment for a couple’s massage scheduled for four thirty, a sensual mud bath at five thirty, and a romantic candlelight dinner on the beach planned at seven. He had arranged it all with the help of the concierge at the resort, and he was hoping that Gaby would enjoy it. This was the farthest he had ever gone to surprise and romance a woman in his life.

  His nerves were jangling when he stopped by the shop to pick her up. She had said that she had a part-time employee who was willing to come in and work a few extra hours so that she could go out early tonight, but he was unprepared for the woman who greeted him.

  Lilliana was shorter than Gaby, so standing in front of him she seemed slightly hobbit-like. She had short black hair and dark eyes behind a pair of black-rimmed glasses that reminded him of the ones his third grade teacher wore. The glare on her face made him feel like he was in the principal’s office, and he hesitated.

  “Are you Austin?” She had an icy tone to her voice, and it irritated him. He was here to pick up his girlfriend. Where did this woman get off treating him like he was the enemy.

  “Are you Lilliana?” he threw back arrogantly, and he waited while she looked him over.

  “You know, Gaby is a good girl, and she deserves to be treated like a princess.” Lilliana was testing him. That came through loud and clear, and he had just the right response.

  “I disagree. When she’s with me she will be treated like a queen, because she deserves no less.” His flowery stance hit the target, and Lilliana’s face split into a wide grin.

  “Damn, you’re quick! Hi, I’m Lil, Gaby’s part-time help, and full time guard dog.” She held out her hand as she moved across the room, and Austin took it with a grin.

  “It’s good to know she has friends who watch out for her.”

  Lil nodded. “Better believe it. We protect our own on Sunset Point. Gaby should be down in a minute. We had several ladies come in late looking for dresses for the charity auction next weekend. It took longer than anticipated. Do you guys have big plans for tonight?”

  “I have a few tricks up my sleeve, but I think I’ll keep them a secret. How long have you known Gaby?” Austin perched on one of the tiny armless chairs that were scattered about the shop. He felt like a bumbling giant, and he half expected the chair to crumple underneath him. He held his breath for a moment as it creaked under his large frame, and then settled awkwardly when it seemed stable.

  “Since we were kids. We both grew up on the island and went to school together. She went to New York, while I went to Florida State.” While she spoke, Lil went back across the room to sort some sort of purses that looked more like large jewelry.

  “Florida State, really? What did you study?”

  “Marketing. I thought I wanted a high-powered corporate job, but I met my husband and suddenly all I could think of was buying a house, settling down, and having babies.”

  “How many?”

  “Two girls. Where are you from?”

  “Apache Crossing, Texas originally, but I’ve lived a lot of places in the Army.”

  Gaby came down the stairs at that moment interrupting their chitchat and looking stunning in a baby-blue halter top and short denim skirt. On her feet were those shoes made out of cork, with a high wedge heel and blue ribbons that tied in a bow behind her ankle. Her hair hung in loose curls around her shoulders, and her sunglasses rested on her head. She looked frazzled but beautiful.

  “Austin! I’m so sorry I’m running late! I just need to grab my purse from the back room.” She vanished into the curtained doorway, and Lil giggled, drawing his attention.

  “You make her nervous. I think that’s a good thing.”

  Austin felt his heart swell in his chest. This woman had known Gaby for a long time, so if she liked him, then maybe, just maybe he and his brothers stood
a good chance of building a future with Gaby. When Gaby had collected her things, she fluttered back into the room reminding him of a dancing butterfly as she gave some last minute instructions to Lil, and then she made her way to his side. She took his hand when he stood up and she started to move toward the front door, stopping with a confused look on her face when he held still.

  “What’s wrong, Tex?”

  Instead of responding verbally, he tugged on her arm, throwing her off balance in those wickedly high shoes, and she fell into his arms, where he greeted her properly. The kiss held every bit of emotion he had pent up and wanted to say, and she seemed to absorb it and throw it right back. When they finally broke the lip-lock, they were both panting for air, and her chocolate eyes had darkened with desire.

  “Well, hello then,” she said softly, looking well kissed and pink cheeked. He gave her a grin and nodded at a gaping Lil before he ushered her out the door of the shop and into the car. He wasn’t taking the chance on anyone delaying them. Not when he had so many plans for the evening.

  The massage was heavenly. Soft music played while they stretched out on massage tables under a white cabana on the beach, and two masseuses spent forty-five minutes kneading and rubbing every muscle in their bodies. The scent of the ocean that was only yards away relaxed Gaby into a mind-numbingly peaceful state, and she didn’t even mind that she was nearly nude in a string bikini with Austin, who had another woman’s hands on him. The girl massaging him seemed perfectly capable and had been wearing a wedding ring that Gaby watched her remove before she lathered her hands in oil. Professional and polite, the two women had put Gaby at ease as they worked on her and Austin.

  Then wrapped in large white towels, they were led to a small sunken stone spa that had several sectioned-off areas. The ones they were taken to held a round tub that looked like a hot tub, but it was filled with a brown creamy-looking mud. Not that she didn’t appreciate spa treatments, but a mud bath was outside of the norm for her, even if she was an heiress.

  “So, what do we do?” Austin asked her, looking askance at the tub. Delicate pink and green flowers floated on the surface and soft classical music filled the air here, too.

  Gaby shrugged at him. “Why are you asking me? You signed us up for this.”

  “You’re the girl! Haven’t you done this before?” He dipped his toes into the mud and then grimaced when he pulled up the now coated digits.

  She couldn’t stop the laughter that bubbled up. “No! Having a vagina doesn’t mean I’ve had every spa treatment known to man.”

  Austin grinned back at her, and then threw his towel to the side. He stood in a pair of swim trunks that hung low on his lean hips, revealing the deep groove of muscles that connected his abs and his groin. His skin was a golden tan color, and he looked perfectly natural standing in the sunshine. She marveled at how quickly he had taken to the island.

  “Come on, love. We’ve got a twenty minute soak ahead of us, and if the brochure is meant to be believed, it will cleanse our pores and give us both softer, more youthful skin.” He took the first step into the pool as she folded her towel and laid it nearby. “It’s warmer than I was expecting, but it’s not bad.”

  “Hmm…seems to me it’s going to take a lot of scrubbing to get the mud off when we’re done. Are you going to wash my back, Tex?” She slid into the mud, wondering at the smooth, creamy substance. It was mud, but it wasn’t. Or at least, it was unlike the mud she had made mud pies with in the garden when she was a kid.

  “I will be glad to wash you from the top of your head to the tips of your gorgeous toes, love.” Austin stared up at her from the seat he had settled on to, and her breath caught in her throat. The love shining up at her from his eyes left her speechless, and she stumbled, barely keeping herself from falling face-first into the mud bath.

  “So to what do I owe all of this lavish pampering?” she asked, trying to divert his attention and give herself a few minutes to process the fact that he was in love with her. This relationship was moving much faster than she ever could have anticipated. Surely, it should take months to fall in love with each other. Not days!

  “Why shouldn’t you be pampered? You are a hardworking woman who puts in more than forty hours a week.” Austin watched her closely. “Besides, I enjoy pampering my girlfriend. Is that a bad thing?”

  She shook her head no and then closed her eyes, letting her head fall back on the small pillow behind her seat. The way the seats were built into the tub, they were facing each other with his legs on either side of hers. It was an odd sensation to be sitting in a tub of thick goop with Austin’s legs pressed against hers, made even odder by her own inner emotional turmoil. The more time she spent with these guys, the more time she wanted to spend with them. Her desire for them was becoming all-consuming, and frankly it scared her to pieces.

  They enjoyed their time in the mud bath in near silence, but Gaby knew that Austin watched her through most of it. She kept her eyes closed, afraid that he would see her confusion and ask her questions that she wasn’t sure she had answers for. When the attendant came to help them out of the tub, she had a difficult time rising. Her muscles were lethargic and didn’t seem to work right. Stumbling as she rose from the tub and mud dripped off of her, she giggled.

  “What’s so funny, love?”

  She stepped under the spray of the outdoor shower as the attendant directed. “Just thinking that you look like the creature from the black lagoon minus the weeds and sticks. Mud is not your best look.”

  With a wide grin on her face, she watched him climb from the pool. His eyebrow arched, and he stepped under the shower with her instead of under the one next to her. “Really? Because I was thinking that you look pretty hot with mud sliding down your body. I was wondering how you would look with chocolate in some of the same places.”

  Gaby’s eyes flew over to see the attendant trying to hide a grin as she headed back out the door. She could feel the heat of embarrassment crawl up her cheeks, and she spun to give Austin her back. Her hair was piled up in a clip atop her head, so she began rubbing just below her neck, trying to remove every trace of mud from her skin. She had to admit the skin underneath felt smooth and soft, even if it was ten shades of awkward red right now.

  Austin dipped his head to whisper in her ear, “I’m sorry love. I didn’t mean to embarrass you.” Before she could respond he had stepped away from her and was standing under the other showerhead, rubbing the mud away from his own body.

  Gaby stood there under the hot water watching him get clean, and her temperature rose rapidly. Now she was really torn. Reining in all of the courage she had in her five-foot-six-inch frame, she stepped under his showerhead and pressed her breasts against the skin of his back seductively.

  “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, Tex. I’m just not used to anyone wanting me so much.”

  He turned and wrapped his arms around her, pressing a light kiss on her lips. “You didn’t seem upset when I kissed you at the shop this afternoon.”

  She cocked her head with a frown. “When you put it that way it does seem a little silly. Anyways, I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. I get it. This relationship is new, and you’re still not ready for people to know it’s permanent yet,” he said, dropping his arms and reaching for the small bar of soap on a rock ledge nearby. “Now, I did promise to wash your back if you got in the tub. Turn around.”

  For a few moments he washed her back gently but thoroughly, and then he handed her the soap and spun so that she could do the same for him. She wasn’t ready to examine the wave of disappointment that crashed over her when he did nothing more than hold her hand after they dressed and made their way to their sunset dinner on the beach.

  There was no cabana this time, just a small wooden platform atop a flat expanse of rock that overlooked the beach. A table for two was set up with candles, flowers, and a bottle of chilled wine waiting. The sun was dipping lower on the horizon, but it was still a good half an hour
from setting, and the lighting around them made the waves look like they were backlit. It was amazing, and she said so.

  “I’m glad you like it. I wanted to give you a special evening,” Austin said after they had placed their orders with their waiter. He sipped at his glass of wine while he watched her take in the view, and she had the feeling he wanted to say something. He was holding back because she had been awkward before, and she felt guilty about it now.

  “If you keep thinking so hard you will forget to enjoy the moment,” she teased, and he nodded in agreement.

  “You’re right. I wanted some time alone with you to talk about some things.”

  Her skin seemed to tingle and go cold all of a sudden, and she noticed her hand was trembling slightly as she reached for her wine. “Oh? What things?”

  Austin leaned forward in his chair and placed his glass in front of him. “You said before that you didn’t think a permanent ménage relationship was for you, and I want to hear the argument behind that statement.”

  She sighed heavily and set her own glass down. “My mom and dad are still married, but they shouldn’t be. My mom spends most of her time traveling with her friends so that she can stay on top of society gossip, while my dad lives full time in Dallas and sifts through mistresses. Mom ignores Dad, Dad ignores mom, and they both tell me how I should be living my life. I grew up on Sunset Point because the schools here are so amazing, and it was out of the tabloid’s spotlight. The tabloids love a rags-to-riches story, so Dad finding oil on his property was fodder for many a headline. What Daddy failed to realize is that leaving me on Sunset Point would expose me to various views on relationships that don’t match his own.”

  “So he doesn’t agree with ménage relationships?”

  “Not when they include his daughter. He also didn’t want me to study design, but when I did it anyway he used his pull to get a top designer to offer me a job right out of college. I took it and worked there for a while, but I wanted…no, I needed to prove to myself that I could build my career with my own hands. Daddy still doesn’t understand that I’m back on the island permanently, and when I told him about you three he was less than thrilled.”